Severe bone fractures are most commonly repaired with open reduction and internal fixation using plates and screws attached to the periosteum of the bone. The typical method to gain access to the fracture site is by making a large incision through the skin and muscles. Once the fracture has been exposed, the plate is then attached to the bone fragment(s) using screws. The placement of the bone plate aides in the healing of the fractured bone by minimizing the amount of interfragmentary movement. After the plate is in place, the wound is suture closed. The suture, however, often leaves behind a large scar.
Less severe bone fractures are usually treated using cast immobilization. This form of treatment, although effective in extremity fractures, is not ideal for fractures located in difficult to cast places (e.g., clavicle and ribs). The alternative is to forego the cast and allow natural healing to occur with limited use of the affected region.
Intramedullary plate fixation includes installing fixation plates inside the intramedullary canal of the fractured bone and is currently used as an alternative to periostial plate fixation and casting that yields reliable bone fracture healing. Intramedullary plate fixation also aids the surgeon in more accurately restoring the shape of the fractured bone to its original (pre-fracture shape) with the help of the anatomic shape of the plate. By utilizing the intramedullary canal for the location of the plate, intramedullary plate fixation provides for the lowest possible profile of fixation, minimizing problems of prominent hardware, as well as providing ideal mechanical resistance to forces across the fixation-bone interfaces. However, current intramedullary plate fixation procedures generally require a long incision to be made in the patient at the site of the fracture for the installation of the plates and the fixation of the plates using screws through the patient's bone. Additionally, intramedullary plates may have bore geometry that accommodates for screws or nails for fixation, but are not visible to the surgeon once the plates have been installed inside the intramedullary canal, thus complicating fixation procedures.
Thus, there is a need in the field of bone fracture healing to create a new and useful system and method for the intramedullary fixation of a fractured bone. This invention provides such a new and useful method and system.